Agnello Brodettato con Tuorli e Limone alla Teramana

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg young lamb shoulder or rib, cut into bone-in pieces
• For the soffritto
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 200 ml dry white wine
• For the brodetto finale
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 60 g Pecorino cheese, finely grated
• 60 ml fresh lemon juice, strained
• 15 g fresh marjoram leaves, picked, not dried
• 15 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 thick slices country bread, toasted

Method

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium flame. Add the soffritto of onion, celery and carrot and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and translucent but without colour. Judge by sight: the onion must be entirely glassy.
2. 2
   Add the lamb pieces in a single layer and raise the heat. Turn each piece to seal on all sides until a pale golden crust forms. Judge by sight: every surface should have lost its raw colour.
3. 3
   Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half, stirring to lift any deposit from the base of the pan. Judge by smell: the sharp alcohol note should have subsided, leaving only a clean wine fragrance.
4. 4
   Add enough water to bring the liquid to just below the level of the lamb. Cover partially and braise over a low flame, turning the pieces occasionally, until the lamb is just under fully cooked — yielding to firm pressure but still slightly resistant at the bone. Preserve sufficient braising liquid in the pan; it must not reduce to a dry glaze. Judge by touch: the meat yields under a finger but is not yet falling from the bone.
5. 5
   This is the step on which the dish lives or dies. Remove the pan entirely from the heat and allow the braising liquid to fall below 70 °C — it should tremble, not simmer. Beat the egg yolks, grated Pecorino, lemon juice, cold butter pieces and fresh marjoram together until fully combined. Temper the liaison by whisking in two tablespoons of the warm braising liquid. Then pour the tempered liaison into the pan in a slow stream, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens to a cream-coloured coating consistency that clings to every piece of lamb. If the eggs show any sign of seizing or curdling, the pan has exceeded 70 °C and the dish is lost. Judge by sight: the sauce must be smooth, pale and uniformly coating — not granular, not separated.
6. 6
   Serve immediately onto warmed plates with toasted country bread alongside. Judge by touch: the sauce should still flow slowly when the plate is tilted; any firmness indicates the liaison is beginning to set and time has been lost.